A Little Dare
by Zayz
Summary: [LJ Oneshot Rewritten] Eventually though, in the middle of our perfectly acceptable conversation, James abruptly said two very frightening words. 'Kiss me.'
1. A Little Dare

**One-shot: A Little Dare**

_This is a one-shot I did. Clearly, I was bored. No, it's not particularly wonderful, and I am aware that it's nauseating. Sorry. But read it if you'd like; it's a short one for once. :P_

I was in the common room with James Potter again; we were just sitting on the sofa, talking. There were a few people around us, some watching us because they were spying on James, but mostly, it was quiet. Eventually, in the middle of the conversation, James suddenly said two very frightening words.

"Kiss me."

He always asked me to do this; it scared me each one of those times. I was only hanging around him because I wanted to be kind to him. I didn't love him. I just felt sorry for him. They were both different things, and any kindness I gave in his direction was always taken advantage of.

"No, I won't," I said. I would never kiss him. Ever. That was the act of a desperate girl, and though I'm boring and could use a real life, I would never stoop to that level.

"I dare you, Evans," he said tauntingly. "Kiss me. You know you want to; you like me."

"Still egotistical to the extreme, I see," I said. "It's not like I expected any different."

"You love me, Evans," he kept trying to persuade me. "Kiss me. One kiss won't mean a thing. A peck on the cheek. Friend to friend."

"I'm not your friend," I argued. "You won't make me kiss you on the cheek either. Besides all that, one kiss with you means that you'll take advantage of me even more every single time you look at me after it."

"Cute _and_ clever," James said, impressed. "Why won't you be mine?"

"Because I'm uninteresting, and because I have a brain," I explained. "My dullness allows me to see, with great clarity, how much I loathe you."

James groaned. "For a dare. One kiss."

"On the cheek?"

"Deal." He looked and sounded sincere; I decided to trust him.

I leaned in to kiss his cheek, but at the very last second, he turned his head and I kissed his lips instead. I tried to pull away, but his lips were…perfect. I settled in them, letting myself relax, and though I could hear wolf-whistles and cheers erupt from behind me, they were unimportant. I couldn't believe how wonderful it was to kiss James Potter, even though he's the world's biggest git. He got a little more involved with each second I stayed, and I somehow welcomed it; I _liked_ it. I wanted him to do it for a longer period of time.

His hands were on my shoulders, and mine were limply by my side. I kissed him greedily, and for much longer than I would have ever imagined. He never objected, obviously, but it was beautiful. I loved every moment.

At last, he pulled himself away from me. It seemed to be a task of considerable difficulty for him, and admittedly, it was for me too. Everyone in the common room looked excited, and they were asking me how I liked it at the top of their lungs.

"I didn't mean to kiss you like that," I said. "I really didn't. You're a horrible cheater."

"You didn't like it?" he questioned me, looking hurt. "At all?"

"No," I lied. "Don't try it again."

He sighed. "I'm sorry that I cheated."

"It's fine." It was, of course, much more than fine, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Are you upset with me?"

"Yes."

"Will you be upset with me if I kiss you again?"

"Even more so."

"Can I do it again anyway?"

Yes, please, do so, I thought. Kiss me until time ends; by all means.

"No," I told him.

He sighed again. "Once again, sorry."

"It's fine," I said again.

A few minutes of awkward silence.

"Hey James?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Really?"

"Really."

"As a friend, or more?"

"Both."

More silence.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Yet more silence.

"Hey James?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go upstairs to your room?"

"Sure. Why?"

"It's quieter there."

"Fair enough."

James got up, took my hand, and led me up to his dormitory. Nobody paid us any more attention, thankfully, and we got the entire room to ourselves. James sat on his bed and I sat beside him, my head on his shoulder, and his arms around my waist.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I like it better up here."

"Me too."

We were very prone to silence that night.

After a few minutes, I said, "Hey James?"

"Yes?"

"I did like that kiss."

"You did?"

"I did."

"A lot?"

"Much more than I can say."

"Why did you tell me something else then?"

"Because I was embarrassed."

"Don't be; I love you, and I don't mind it if I tell you."

"I'm not like that."

"I can tell."

"Will you still love me anyway?"

"Of course."

I smiled, satisfied.

"Hey, James?"

"Yes?"

I didn't say anything this time; I just threw myself on him and kissed him again, much harder than he had kissed me before.

Around thirty seconds later, I stopped for a moment and breathed in his ear, "I love you."

"I love you too," he breathed back.

"Am I too close? Am I going too fast?" I was getting worried; what if he didn't want this?

"No and no," he answered. He kissed me again and we curled up together on his bed, not saying anything more after that admittedly frightening episode.

"Hey James?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"I'm so glad you cheated."

He grinned. "Believe me; I am too."

_If you review me, that would be great, but know that I am aware of the horridness of this one-shot. Thanks!_


	2. A Little Dare Rewritten

**A Little Dare (Rewrite)**

_As you all know, I did not like the way I wrote this one-shot the first time. I was fully planning to take it down or change it entirely, but as you all seemed to like it, I kept it the way it was. Now, if you read the reviews I got recently, you know that one of them was…a little different. It was honest though, which I do respect, and I decided that I would take the advice it gave and rewrite this. I'm actually very, very glad that I did because I happen to like these results much better than the last. I hope you'll leave me another review and let me know your thoughts because, of course, I am the author, and what I think is not as important as what you think. Some things in this are the same, but I changed it quite a lot, and I must say that the story plays out much better now. So I hope you enjoy this one! Disclaimer at the bottom._

I was in the common room with James Potter again; we were just sitting on the sofa, talking. There were a few people nearby, but there was an adequate chatter around us; enough to cover anything we said, but little enough that we could still hear ourselves speaking. Eventually though, in the middle of our perfectly acceptable conversation, James abruptly said two very frightening words.

"Kiss me."

He was forever asking me to do this; it scared me each one of those times. I was only hanging around him because I wanted to be kind to him. Any kindness I gave in his direction was always taken advantage of, however, which did annoy me. But, somehow, it was a slightly charming whenever _he_ did these sorts of stupid things.

"No, I won't," I said. I would never kiss him. Ever. Not willingly, anyway.

"I dare you, Evans," he said tauntingly. "Kiss me. You know you want to; you like me."

"Still egotistical to the extreme, I see," I said. "It's not like I expected any different."

"You love me, Evans," he kept trying to persuade me. "Kiss me. One kiss won't mean a thing. A peck on the cheek. Friend to friend."

"I'm not your friend," I argued. "You won't make me kiss you on the cheek either. Besides all that, one kiss with you means that you'll take advantage of me even more every single time you look at me after it."

"Cute _and_ clever," James said, impressed. "Why won't you be mine?"

"Because I'm remarkably uninteresting, and because I have a functioning brain," I explained. "My dullness allows me to see, with great clarity, how much I loathe you."

James groaned. "For a dare. One kiss."

"On the cheek?"

"Deal." He looked and sounded sincere; I decided to trust him.

I leaned in to kiss his cheek, but at the very last second, he turned his head and I kissed his lips instead. I tried to pull away, but his lips were…perfect. I settled in them, letting myself relax; I couldn't believe how wonderful it was to kiss James Potter, even though he's the world's biggest git. He got a little more involved with each second I stayed, and I somehow welcomed it; I _liked_ it. I found myself wanting him to do it for a longer period of time.

His hands were on my shoulders, and mine were limply by my side. I kissed him greedily, and for much longer than I would have ever imagined. He never objected, obviously, but it was beautiful. I loved every moment.

At last, he pulled himself away from me. It seemed to be a task of considerable difficulty for him, and admittedly, it was for me too. Everyone in the common room looked excited, and they were asking me how I liked it at the top of their lungs.

"I didn't mean to kiss you like that," I said. "I really didn't. You're a horrible cheater."

"You didn't like it?" he questioned me, looking hurt. "At all?"

"No," I fibbed. "Don't try it again."

He sighed. "I'm sorry that I cheated."

"It's fine." It was, of course, much more than fine, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Are you upset with me?"

"Yes." I was such a liar; who was I trying to kid here?

"Will you be upset with me if I kiss you again?"

"Even more so." Why did I even bother trying to lie? I was sure that my blush would give it away eventually.

"Can I do it again anyway?"

Yes, please, do so, I thought longingly. Kiss me until time ends; by all means.

"No," I told him as snappishly as I possibly could.

He sighed again. "Once again, sorry."

"It's fine," I said again.

A few minutes of awkward silence.

"Hey James?"

"Yeah?"

"Really; please don't do that again."

I had been so sure that he would be arguing with me on the matter that I was surprised when he said, "All right. I'm truly sorry, like I've already said."

I sighed, but didn't bother answering him.

"Hey Lily?" he asked again after a couple of minutes.

"Yes?"

"If I told you, hypothetically, that I highly enjoyed that kiss, would you be very angry with me?"

"Well, if you were to hypothetically tell me such a thing, I imagine that I might be…quite flattered," I said, mesmerized by his earnest eyes into telling the truth by mistake. "Hypothetically, of course."

James nodded slowly, digesting this. "Well, what if I was to hypothetically dare you to do it again; would you?"

My immediate answer in the safety of my mind was yes, I would do it again. But the answer that _he_ would hear was one I knew would be a little different.

"Hmmmm…maybe," I said.

There was another lengthy, thoughtful sort of silence.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I dare you to kiss me again."

How mean he was; it was like he knew what I was thinking.

"And I dare you _not_ to kiss me again," I retorted suddenly, struck by inspiration.

He didn't say anything.

"I took your dare, now you have to take mine," I said, still feeling motivated.

"I suppose that would be fair, but you did have the power to say no," James said, turning the tables annoyingly again. "You chose not to say no, and this time, I do choose to say no."

I pursed my lips and tried my very hardest not to explode; tempting him was no fun if he played this way.

"Hey James?" I asked after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"What would you say, hypothetically, if I told you that I may like you?"

He beamed. "Well, in that hypothetical situation, I would probably dance around the room, and when I was done with that, I would snog you senseless."

"What would you say if…hypothetically, I allowed you to do that?"

"I would say that my happiness was too vast to be described in intelligent speech," James said.

I giggled. "What if I…took your original dare? Would you like that?"

"Hypothetically?"

"Yes." I had almost forgotten that part.

He tapped his chin playfully. "Well, hypothetically, I would probably like that very, very much."

I hated what we were doing now; the attraction was quite nearly intolerable by this point. Should I give in and do what my gut told me, or should I walk away and listen to my logic? It was mind-boggling how difficult this choice was at the moment.

I bit my lip as hard as I could, attempting fairly unsuccessfully to finalize my decision. I needed to do a bit of both methods without overdoing one of them; that was the trick behind this little game. I sighed then, coming to a final conclusion in my head.

"Hey James?"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you the truth now?"

"Yes," he said. "That might be helpful."

"I did like that kiss a little bit," I confessed.

"How much is a little bit?" he asked, increasing the blush on my cheeks.

"I can't say." That was true; I couldn't say how much a little bit was because its value was nearly ridiculous.

"Please?"

"No."

More silence; we were quite prone to silence that night.

"Hey James?"

"Yes?"

"In my case, a little is a lot."

He nodded. "I could tell; I just liked hearing you say it."

"You are a horrible cheater." He was making me cross again; he was so good at doing that. However, I still thought he was charming beyond belief, though I was never going to say that out loud.

"I am, but if you don't cheat just a trifling bit, how are you ever supposed to get what you want?" He looked at me, as though waiting for me to give him an answer to his supposedly-brilliant rhetorical question.

"I suppose you're right, but if you cheat, how do you get the pride of a job well done?" I inquired.

"You shouldn't cheat a _lot_; just a trifling bit, like I said, would suffice."

"You cheat much more than a 'trifling bit,'" I observed.

He nodded. "You, Lily Evans, happen to change the rules of my world considerably."

I had no response to this, so he took the opportunity to say something else.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

I blushed; he was so tactless, yet for him, it was acceptable. "I can honestly say that there is a distinct possibility that I feel the same way."

He stared at me blankly. "In plain English? You talk so strangely when you're confused about something."

"I am not confused," I argued hotly. "But in plain English, that means that I love you too."

Ugh; why had I told the truth? I inwardly groaned; he would make something out of this, and knowing him, it would probably be something I wouldn't like.

"You love me?" He was hardly daring to believe me.

"I might. There's a difference." Had I managed to save myself?

He nodded again. "I know. It's just that I want to see if that difference applies here."

"Excuse me?"

"Kiss me again, and I will see if you _might_ or you _do_ like me," he clarified. "Go on; it shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

"It should definitely be a problem," I said, horrified. "This is not proper behavior, James!"

"Oh, yeah, I know," he said dismissively. "Now come here."

Though my heart fluttered with excitement, I rolled my eyes and looked as exasperated as I possibly could. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss me again. It was just as magical as the first time, but I made myself pull away faster since I was more prepared for it, and a vital judgment was on the line.

James beamed again, ecstatic. "You love me," he informed me.

I raised an eyebrow. "I do?" How was he so good at this? It was quite maddening.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You love me."

I rolled my eyes for the second time. "Yeah, sure."

He exhaled tiredly. "You are being utterly indecent right now; you know the truth as well as I do."

"Women are defiant," I said. "We are strong, and we do not need you foolish imbecilic men to try tricking us into saying something we will later regret."

"So you believe in girl power?" He seemed to find that much more amusing than he should.

"You're damn right I do," I told him proudly.

"I see," he said. "Well then, I guess that I will just have to try harder to break your resolve than I am at the present."

"You'll have to try _much_ harder to break my resolve," I corrected, still trying to push away the temptation that had been threatening to take me over.

He shrugged, stayed quiet for a minute or so, and said, "Hey Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I will break your resolve one day, you know."

"You will never hear me say it again, but I have a feeling that you might." Honesty was a trait that I knew I should incorporate with James more often, which was the sole reason for my saying something like that.

His face broke into his usual, well-known grin as he turned to walk away. However, because I was a compassionate, tremendous soul, I took pity on him.

"Hey James?"

"Yes?" He turned to face me again.

I smiled. "I'm sort of glad that you cheated today."

He came back to me, tucked some of my hair behind my ear, and stroked my cheek in the tenderest way I had ever felt.

"Trust me," he said softly. "I am quite glad I cheated as well."

_Well, was I right? Was this version any better? –Pokes the review button- You know you want to. :D_

_Disclaimer: Regretful though I am to say it, these wonderful characters and this fantastic school of magic do not belong to me at all whatsoever; everything in the Harry Potter series is in the sole ownership of the ridiculously talented J. K. Rowling, and I am but a bored, humble teenager who wants to play around with her story. Remember that._


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